


A Bloody Treasure of Ashes

by Fiddlerinthewoods



Series: Linked Universe [14]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda (Video Game 1986), Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Dairas, Gerus, Kidnapping, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Linktober, Slight torture, Violence, but i didn't, i hope it balances out, i was going to write fluff, injuries, longer than the other fics, my poor boi!, none of this sounds happy, spells, the next fic is crack, treasure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 14:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20977187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiddlerinthewoods/pseuds/Fiddlerinthewoods
Summary: Linktober Day Ten: TreasureWarriors discovers why Hyrule's terrified of his monsters.





	A Bloody Treasure of Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Legend of Zelda or Linked Universe.
> 
> TW: Blood, injuries, slight torture, violence.
> 
> Enjoy!

Blood.

They needed blood.

They needed the Hero’s blood—the blood that will revive their Lord.

Every one knew this—at some subatomic level, they knew they needed the blood of the Hero to revive their Lord. To be poured over his treasure.

His ashes.

Yet, they were not successful.

They failed. Over and over again, they failed. The Hero would live and they would die, their numbers getting fewer and fewer.

They never stopped.

Their Lord begged of it. He begged of the blood of the Hero to release him. To revive him. To end the Hero.

He needed to be free.

And, thus, they sought the only cure to his abandonment.

The blood of the Hero.

* * *

There were nine Heroes. Each with the blood of the Hero—but, there was only one that would satisfy the needs of the Lord.

The Hero called Hyrule.

The army of the Lord watched from the shrubbery as the group of Heroes settled down for the night. The Heroes surrounded a campfire, and the Hero called Twilight took first watch.

The army of the Lord waited.

They waited for hours, until Twilight finished his watch and went to wake up Hyrule.

The one with the blood.

As soon as Hyrule settled himself away, and Twilight dozed to sleep, the army attacked.

* * *

Hyrule was taken by surprise as the group of Gerus attacked. He was hit in the head by the pummel of a thrown mace, knocking him straight to the ground. His body fell onto the prone form of Warriors, who was lying by the fire.

Warriors shot awake, grabbing for his sword. “What’s—”

Another mace pummel knocked into the back of Warriors’ neck, knocking him out.

The Blue Gerus snickered to themselves as they snuck into camp and picked up the prone body of Hyrule. “_Take the other… the Hero won’t submit easily_…”

“_Good idea…_” the other Geru agreed, in the tongue of monsters, as they picked up the scarf-clad Link.

As they dragged the two through the thick bush, Warriors’ scarf caught on a branch. The Geru ripped it free, leaving a small chunk of blue fabric in its wake.

The camp slept peacefully.

* * *

“They’re _gone?”_

“Hyrule didn’t wake me up for watch—and they’re both missing.”

“Maybe they’ve gone for a walk…?”

“No. Look at this. It’s from Warriors’ scarf, he would never tear that off.”

“If they took Hyrule then they’re probably after his blood. How many potions do we have?”

“Legend’s right, they could be injured.”

“All the more reason to stop talking and search.”

“I agree. They couldn’t have gone far, the fire’s only been out for about an hour. Sky, you and I will search to the north. Four and Wind, you take south. Legend and Wild, you take east. Twilight, can you and Wolfie take west?”

“Sure.”

“Good. Rendezvous here.”

* * *

Warriors awoke to the scuffling noise of claws on stone.

His mind was active, but his body still laid prone. It would be best to not inform their capturers that he was awake. The illusion of unconsciousness could save his life.

The ground beneath him was damp, a cold stone. His first guess was that he was in a cave. From the lack of airflow and wind, he solidified his guess.

His hands were pinned above his head to a wall, he could feel the stiffness of his muscles and the soreness of his wrists.

He was surrounded by a large group of about ten to fifteen enemies. He didn’t know what kind, but the sound of their claws on stone reminded him of Lizalfos.

But Lizalfos didn’t take hostages.

Or, he _thought _he was a hostage.

With the monsters they had to deal with lately, he wouldn’t be surprised if Lizalfos started taking hostages.

He knew his capturers were not Hyrulean, at least. They were monsters, there was no doubt about it.

Warriors heard a light groan from his left and lightly opened his eyes, spotting Hyrule tied up beside him. He was sporting a large bruise at the back of his head.

A faint pulse from Warriors’ neck informed him that he also had a bruise.

“Hyrule,” Warriors started quietly, “are you okay?”

Looking around briefly, Hyrule gulped. “We need to get out of here.”

“I know—”

“No, you _don’t _know,” Hyrule interrupted. Warriors was taken back by his rudeness; he was normally much more considerate. “These are _my _monsters, meaning that they’re after me.”

“How’s that any different than the rest of us?”

“They need my blood to resurrect Ganon.”

Oh.

That put a strain on things.

“Any clue were our weapons are?” Hyrule tried to change the subject.

Warriors glanced around the cave, he could see a small pile of what looked liked shields and swords.

“Over there,” he gestured with his head, “too far away. How’s your magic?”

Hyrule paused. “Steady.”

At least they could fall back on magic.

“But I can only use one strong spell or a few weaker ones.” Hyrule explained.

“And the strong spell will knock you out, correct?”

Hyrule nodded before hissing slightly.

“What monsters are these anyway?” Warriors wondered. “I have never seen them.”

Hyrule glanced around. “Gerus and Dairas. Thunder can take care of the Gerus, but the Dairas would remain.”

“And you’d be unconscious. Understood.”

Just as Warriors thought of another point to say, one of the Geru guards turned to the two and jolted. _“Ah! They’re awake!”_

Some of the other monsters, who were not surrounding a large vase in the middle of the cave, marched over to the two.

_“Hero,” _said one of the Dairas, _“how good of you to awaken.”_

Hyrule glanced at Warriors. Neither of them understood the tongue of the monsters.

“If you want to speak, you should really learn Hyrulean,” Warriors suggested. “We don’t speak monster.”

The Daira hissed, their s’s were elongated, “My Hyrulean is bad.”

Warriors blinked.

Monsters could speak?

What a world….

“Hero,” the Daira turned to Hyrule, “stop fighting. Help our Lord. Save Lord Ganon.”

Hyrule blanched. “No—never.”

The Daira hissed to the monsters, _“He says he will not.”_

The group of monsters growled and roared, _“Make him pay! Make him bleed!”_

Taking an axe off their back, the Daira stepped forward. “Help Lord Ganon or die.”

_“Make him pay! Make him bleed!”_

Hyrule stuttered as the axe was lifted over the Daira’s head. “_S—Shield!”_

A red glow erupted from Hyrule and surrounded the Hero as the axe was swung down onto him. It smashed into the Shield before being bounced off.

Now, normally Hyrule’s Shield spell would do little against the axe of a Daira. But he had been training and was growing stronger. Finally, after countless amounts of mid-battle spontaneous training, his Shield could take the hit from a Daira’s axe. He still received damage, but it was minor compared to before.

The Daira hissed, _“Magic.”_

Warriors tried to reach the hidden bobby-pins in the sleeves of his tunic—this wasn’t the first time he needed to escape handcuffs—but was spotted by one of the Gerus, who grabbed his sleeve and ripped it.

_“He’s trying to escape,” _the Geru growled.

“No,” the Daira chastised to Warriors, “not allowed.”

They turned to the other monsters. _“Prep a room for the Hero’s friend. Make sure that the Hero can watch what we do to him.”_

Some of the Gerus nodded before taking off into the cave.

The Daira turned to the two. “If we cannot hurt you, we will hurt your friend.” they explained. “We will stop when you want to help our Lord.”

“Don’t worry, Hyrule.” Warriors assured. “I can take whatever they throw at me.”

Hyrule gulped.

“Hey, we can’t let them win.” Warriors added. “We’re Heroes, we need to stop the villains. And these guys are _definitely _villains.”

The Daira hissed, _“Geru! Take the Hero’s friend to his cell. I’ll be there soon.”_

Two Gerus came over to Warriors, one held his head from moving while the other raised a mace.

“Oh, come on, you’re not going to—”

Before Warriors could finish his sentence, the pummel of the mace smashed into his head, rendering him unconscious.

“Warriors!”

* * *

Warriors woke up tied to the wall again. His head had a full-blown headache that pounded from where large bruises were slowly appearing. Looking around the room, he could obviously see that he was in a cell.

Through the barred door, Hyrule was tied to the wall.

“Warriors!” Hyrule sighed in relief. “You’re awake!”

“Yeah.” Warriors groaned. “What happened while I was out?”

“Nothing,” Hyrule explained. “The Daira explained that they would wait until you woke up.”

Warriors nodded. “Yeah, about that. Do monsters just normally _speak _in your world or…?”

“Only the occasional Daira,” Hyrule said. “Since they’re half Hylian. But I’ve never seen one that was as articulate as this one.”

“Good to know. How do I kill one?”

Hyrule thought, “I normally just stab them with my sword.”

“Cool. I don’t have my sword on me though.”

Hyrule nodded before solemnly musing for a moment, “I—I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“I used my spell on me,” Hyrule explained, “I can’t use Thunder now…”

“Hey,” Warriors gently assured, “you did the right thing. These monsters can’t get your blood. Protecting yourself is priority—well, second priority, escaping is first. And,” Warriors added, “if push comes to shove and you can escape, go. Even if you must leave me—you need to escape. I just ask that you get the others and come back.”

“No. I’m not leaving you!”

“Hyrule,” Warriors interrupted, “in order to awaken Ganon, they need your blood. We _cannot _allow them to get your blood. So, you need to escape. I can stay a little longer while you group up—you cannot.”

Before Hyrule could speak, the cell door to Warriors’ left opened. Two Gerus and two Daira entered his cell, surrounding him. One of the Daira, the one who spoke, observed him. “Ah, good, you’re not dead.”

“Takes more than a knock on the head to kill me.”

“Warriors,” Hyrule warned, “don’t torment them.”

The speaking Daira turned to Hyrule. “Hero, you can watch!” They turned to the two Gerus. _“Grab him.”_

Grabbing hold of Warriors’ biceps, the two red and orange Gerus hoisted him onto his feet. “Woah!” Warriors exhaled. “Easy… you don’t have to be rough.”

The second Daira nodded to the speaking Daira and reached forward, grabbing Warriors’ scarf off his neck. “Now, you be careful with—”

Before he could finish, the Daira smacked his cheek, leaving it red and bruising.

“Warriors!”

The Daira growled, throwing his scarf away, _“Do not speak. I do not want to hear your voice.”_

Warriors slid his focus to the speaking Daira. “So, you gonna be my translator or…?”

Before the Daira could smack him again, the speaking one spoke, _“Let him have that one question.” _They spoke to Warriors. “No and yes. If you are good.”

“Let him go!” Hyrule called. “It’s me you want—he has nothing to do here!”

The Dairas ignored Hyrule. “Until we get the blood for the treasure Lord Ganon,” the Daira explained, “you will stay.”

“Treasure?” Warriors wondered. “You mean that vase?”

In response, he got another smack on his cheek—the Daira’s claws were dipped in blood, and a stinging pain resonated from his cheek. The Daira lifted their claws to their snout before sniffing. _“Blood of a Hero… it’s strong. He’s a Hero, but the wrong one.”_

_“Will his blood not work?”_

_“No. We need _that _Hero’s blood.” _The Daira pointed a bloody claw at Hyrule. _“His won’t work.”_

The speaking Daira growled, “You are lucky.”

Warriors furrowed his brow but kept his mouth shut.

“You’re lucky your blood is wrong.”

_Wrong?_

The Daira with the bloody claw turned to the Geru. _“Remove his armour.”_

Ripping off Warriors’ armour, they were met with a snarky response, “Hey, shouldn’t you take me out to dinner first?”

He was smacked again.

“_Warriors.” _Hyrule huffed. “You need to stop doing that!”

Warriors shivered as his bare skin got hit with the cold air. The speaking Daira turned around and faced Hyrule as the bloodied Daira stood in front of Warriors. “Look, Hero,” the speaking Daira said, as the bloodied Daira made a thin line across Warriors bare chest, earning a hiss from the Hero, “you can help your friend. Save Lord Ganon.”

Hyrule was paralysed. He could only watch as line were drawn on Warriors chest. He begun to shake. “Stop! Let him go!”

“Don’t do it, Hyrule!” Warriors hissed. “You can’t let them win!”

“You’re being tortured because of me!” Hyrule exclaimed. “I can’t allow you to suffer!”

Warriors gritted out, “Hyrule, for _once in your life _stop being so compassionate.”

The bloodied Daira growled, _“It’s not working.”_

_“Try harder,” _the speaking Daira spat.

“I can’t let you suffer, Warriors!” Hyrule exclaimed.

“_Hyrule,” _Warriors shut his eyes as the claws dug deeper, “if you hand yourself over to these monsters, I will come over there and smack some sense into you.”

A wave of pain smacked into Warriors and his knees buckled, the two Geru grunted as they held him up. The last thing he felt before he passed out was stinging pain.

* * *

“Warriors!” Hyrule yelled as he saw the form of Warriors go prone and his head fall forward.

The Daira removed their bloody claws from the body and stepped back. _“Did he die?”_

The speaking Daira mused, _“Pathetic.” _

They turned to the Gerus. _“Drop him. We’ll come back in an hour to see if he’s dead. And to see if the blood will cooperate for the treasure.”_

Warriors slammed against the floor as the Gerus dropped him. He didn’t awaken, but lightly groaned from the action. The four monsters left the cell, leaving only the unconscious Link.

Hyrule bit his lip as he watched the steady breathing from Warriors. He could use Fairy and fly through the bars, but he wouldn’t be able to rescue Warriors from his cell. He also wouldn’t have enough energy for Life. He was skinny enough to slip past the bars, but Warriors would never make it.

Warriors’ voice ran through his head, _“If push comes to shove and you can escape, go. Even if you must leave me—you need to escape.”_

He could escape. He could turn into a fairy and gather the others.

But he didn’t want to leave Warriors.

Who knows what the monsters would do to him once Hyrule disappeared…

But Warriors had a point. The monsters needed his blood in order to resurrect Ganon, and they can’t resurrect Ganon if Hyrule isn’t there for them to use his blood. They couldn’t use Warriors blood because, although he had the spirit of the Hero, he didn’t have Hyrule’s blood. And, eventually the monsters will get tired of being denied and will forcefully get Hyrule’s blood.

The logical part of Hyrule told him to leave and come back with the others.

The emotional part told him to stay because he can’t abandon Warriors.

He gulped. He had an hour to escape and come back without the monsters knowing he left. If he was to make a decision, he needed to make it _now._

Hyrule closed his eyes and silently apologised, “Warriors, I’m sorry.”

Opening them, he whispered, “_Fairy._”

* * *

Warriors’ trail strengthened the more west Wolfie went.

Hyrule’s, fainter at some points, being over shadowed by Warriors’, seemed the strengthen in a different direction. It wasn’t an old trail as well, this seemed fresher and stronger.

As if he was near Hyrule.

Wolfie made a split-second decision and transformed back into Twilight. “Hyrule?” he called, cautiously. “Are you here?”

From the depths of the woods, a green fairy shimmered in front of Twilight’s face. He flinched; fairies don’t normally come close to him. The green fairy moved back from Twilight before shifting size and colour.

Where the fairy was, stood Hyrule.

He seemed exhausted and relieved. “Twilight!” he called before rapidly speaking. “Daira and Gerus have Warriors captive—I managed to escape, but he’s still there! We need to hurry! He was tortured for my blood! I don’t know how long until the Daira realises I’m missing!”

“Slow down,” Twilight said, “take a breath. Where’s Warriors?’

Hyrule took a few shallow breaths. “He’s in a cave just north of here about ten minutes! We need the rest of our group; he’s injured and I don’t have enough magic left to help him!”

Twilight nodded. “North of here, ten minutes. How strong are these monsters?”

“Pretty strong.”

Twilight furrowed his brow. “Hyrule, head back to camp—the rest should be there. Gather them and meet me at the cave, I’ll head up there.”

“Which ways the camp?”

“East, straight.”

Hyrule nodded. “Okay. Okay.”

Twilight looked towards the direction of where Hyrule said, “How many enemies?”

“Uh… between ten to twenty.” Hyrule admitted. “I think they also have Ganon’s ashes…”

“It was a smart move, then, to leave,” Twilight said. “Hurry to camp.”

Hyrule nodded before heading the direction Twilight came.

Once he was alone, Twilight transformed into Wolfie, starting his way north.

* * *

Warriors woke up to his chest on fire.

And monsters screaming.

_“He escaped! How could he escape? We have guards on him!”_

_“Sound the alarms! He couldn’t have gone far!”_

_“Protect the treasure of our Lord! Bring the blood to the treasure!”_

_“Bring the prisoner.”_

The door to his cell opened and the speaking Daira marched inside, followed by two Gerus. _“Untie him," _they ordered to the Gerus, who marched over to Warriors and begun to undo his hands.

They fell to his side, his muscles crying in relief. He would’ve attacked the monsters, but he could barely move his numb arms. The Gerus pulled him to his feet again.

“Hey! I told you to be nice!”

The speaking Daira glared. _“Bring him to the centre.”_

Ignoring Warriors’ protests, the Gerus dragged him out of his cell. He was taken through a small hallway, towards where the vase stood in the middle of the cave.

The Gerus threw him down onto the cold stone, his chest flaring up.

“You,” the speaking Daira spat. “Where is the Hero?”

Warriors looked up through his pained vision. “Wha—what?”

The Daira smacked his cheek, which had gone numb from the previous hits. “_Where is the_ _Hero?”_

Warriors blinked. “Wha? Hyrule? He got away…?”

“Yes,” the Daira growled. “Where is he?”

Ignoring his pain, Warriors begun to laugh, “_Thank Farore… _He’s safe… You can’t awaken Ganon now…”

The Daira growled and lifted their axe. “Where is the Hero?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Warriors wondered. “I’ve been passed out… Even _if _I knew, I’m not gonna tell you.”

Unsatisfied, the Daira held their axe over their head. They growled, about to slice Warriors, when a wolf howled.

Warriors looked up. “…Wolfie?”

The Daira barked orders, _“Gerus! Check out that noise!”_

Five Gerus left the cave and headed towards where the howl came from. There was the sounds of short shrieking from the Gerus.

_“Infiltrator—”_

Then, there was silence.

The two Dairas begun to bark orders, “_Attack!”_

_“Defend our Lord!”_

Half of the remaining Gerus stayed with Warriors and the ashes, while the other half went towards the entrance.

Warriors scanned the cave for his weapon, which was located about two metres to his right. Slowly, painfully, he begun to crawl towards his sword. He ignored the pain flaring from his chest.

One of the Gerus noticed him. _“Stop moving!”_

They reached and grabbed Warriors’ hair, pulling him back to the centre of the cave. He struggled against the monster, but his injuries weakened his attacks. He was thrown against some stairs that led to the vase. Struggling to keep his consciousness, Warriors focused on staying awake.

The sounds of battle were hazy to him as he focused on his breathing. He knew that he should pay attention to the fight, grab his weapon, and join, but he could barely walk. The best course of action for him was to stay off to the sides.

He didn’t notice when the Gerus guarding him lessened, or when the group arrived at the cave and joined the battle.

He didn’t notice the growling of the Daira as they were slain.

He didn’t notice the group surrounding him.

He did notice when someone lightly placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to look up.

Looking up into the concerned eyes of Sky, he sighed in relief, “Hey, guys…”

“Woah,” Sky caught his head before he could pass out. Sky reached into his pouch for potions. “You need to stay awake, Warriors.”

“…Where’s Hyrule?”

“He’s at camp,” Time explained. “Legend stayed with him.”

“…What happened?”

“Seems like Twilight thought that taking down an entire army of monsters was the best way to spend the evening.” Wild lightly knocked into Twilight’s arm with his elbow.

“It worked,” Twilight defended.

Sky held out a potion for Warriors. “Here, you need to drink this.”

Shakily, Warriors accepted the potion. He slowly lifted it to his lips as the taste of sweet berries rolled down his tongue. The wounds on his chest dulled, he sighed in relief. “Thanks.”

“How are you feeling?” Time wondered.

Warriors sighed, “Well, I don’t feel like death anymore.”

“That’s good.” Time nodded. “We should collect your things and head back to camp. Wild, burn the ashes.”

Wild grabbed a Fire Arrow. “Okay.”

Sky and Twilight moved to help Warriors to his feet, the injured Link hissing slightly from the movement. Four and Wind grabbed their items, including Warriors’ ruined scarf. Time walked ahead of the group; his sword ready to defend them if need be.

As the group exited the cave, Wild kicked over the vase. Ashes spilled over the ground. He drew his bow’s string back before firing at the ashes.

They caught fire, and the sounds of Ganon screaming could be heard as he followed the group.

Standing at the base of the entrance, he drew back a Bomb Arrow and shot at the roof. A large explosion rocked the cave and sent large stones falling to the ground.

The treasure of Lord Ganon would never see light of day.

* * *

Hyrule stood up at the sound of the group emerging from the bushes.

“Hyrule,” Legend said, “sit back down, you’re still healing.”

Hyrule rushed over to where Twilight and Sky were supporting Warriors, who was draped in Twilight’s fur hood.

“Hey, Hyrule.” Warriors greeted as he was gently lowered onto his bed. “Glad to see you’re okay…”

“Me?” Hyrule wondered. “I’m not the one who was injured!”

Warriors shrugged, before hissing slightly. “Listen, it was priority to get you out of there—I’m glad it worked. They didn’t get your blood either, so win-win.”

Sky held out another potion for Warriors, who graciously accepted it.

“I only escaped because I _abandoned _you.” Hyrule explained.

“Yeah, and I told you to do that.” Warriors reminded. “Don’t beat yourself up for it.”

Legend scoffed, “Too late for that.”

Hyrule didn’t reach Warriors’ gaze. “Hyrule, look at me.” Once he caught the Link’s gaze, he smiled. “I’m okay. You’re okay. Ganon’s still gone. The monsters are dealt with. Everything’s fine. It’s nothing a potion won’t heal.”

“Or stitches.” Four held up the scarf. “It’s ripped, but fixable.”

“Yay…” Warriors sighed, suddenly exhausted. “I’m going to rest for sometime… if you beat yourself up about escaping, I’m going to wake up and smack some sense into you. Alright?”

Hyrule shrugged. “Alright.”

Warriors turned to Legend. “If he beats himself up, can you smack him for me?”

“Sure.”

Time spoke up, “Hyrule, you should rest as well.” He looked up at the sky as the sun slowly started to set. “We’ll wake you when it’s dinner.”

Warriors relaxed onto is bedroll, finding it more comfortable than ever.

As he heard Hyrule shift away from him, he closed his eyes. Sleep washed over him.

* * *

The treasure of Ganon was forever gone.

No matter if the monsters were after Hyrule’s blood, they couldn’t get to the ashes.

Without the treasure, his blood had no use.

The ashes of Ganon were no more than dust.

His treasure was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
